A trip they probably won't forget
"United Nations peacekeepers in Congo have used helicopters to airlift endangered baby gorillas to a sanctuary after they were rescued in a conflict zone where they faced being captured or eaten." The gorillas are part of a reintroduction effort. Read the full article in Reuters India.
Chimpanzees and grief: video
Scientists are validating and advancing Jane Goodall's early observations that chimpanzees experience grief (among other "human" emotions). When a 50-year-old chimpanzee named Pansy was dying in a zoo in Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Parkin in Stirlingshire, Scotland, companion chimps gathered around her, groomed her and caressed her. Her daughter slept by her side even after she died.
Bonobos are just wonderful
If you did not know that bonobos are matriarchal and use sex to maintain harmony, you'll want to read this introduction to bonobos from Live Science and primatologist Brian Hare. He has done several studies at our sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees, the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of Congo.
You can help chimpanzees in labs
Did you know there is some exciting momentum around the issue of chimpanzees used in invasive research?
Best estimates are that more than 1,000 chimpanzees are in labs in the U.S., either being used for painful and terrifying experiments or being warehoused in case they are wanted. One chimpanzee named Karen was taken from the wild as an infant and kept in a lab for more than 50 years.
If you care to learn about this issue and spread the word, here are some other facts to pocket:
You're an ape, I'm an ape...
We are great apes, as are orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. Do you know anyone who resists or dislikes that notion? If so, you'll enjoy this piece by biologist Ursula Goodenough, for NPR. Check it out and you'll learn about a new book titled I'm Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo, and how to get a copy. Profits benefit the Bonobo Conservation Initiative.
Study suggests chimpanzee culture is female-driven
Wired Science reports on a study that suggests females are the carriers of chimpanzee culture, rather than males. In an analysis of data from 7 communities of wild chimpanzees by scientists at Stockholm University, researchers found that the number of cultural traits correlated with the number of females in the community, but not with the number of males. The long-term research they looked at included the ongoing study Jane Goodall began in 1960, at Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
